Australian band Stormcellar blasts through U.S. market with rocking mix of blues and country
(Published: March 10, 2013)

Q: Australia doesn't exactly have a long track record for either blues or country artists. How did your interest originate with such American roots genres?

Michael Barry (vocals/harmonica): Hang on a minute, we've got Olivia Newton-John and Keith Urban for country examples. On the blues front we've got Dave Hole and, ok, well, you got me there. My interest in the blues was sparked when I saw Backsliders supporting Leo Kottke way back in the day. From there I went on to some other local heroes such as the Bondi Cigars and then followed the music back to the source, like we all do

Q: Growing up, what artists influenced you the most?

A: Mum was into torch songs so I guess my ideas on vocals came from singers such as Anne Murray, Karen Carpenter, and Bonnie Raitt.

Q: How difficult is it for artists with your musical style attract radio airplay or any form of media exposure locally?

A: It's not a style issue; it's a ‘who plays music and how do they choose it' issue. There seems to be a pipeline for signed or commercial acts that land them on commercial radio. For us, we've been remarkably fortunate that the community and independent radio have supported us in a big way, both locally and overseas.

Q: Have you been able to support yourself as a musician or do you have a day job? If the latter, what do you do for a living?

A: We all do we what we have to do, to do what we want to do. I geek for a living.

Q: How would you describe the rock scene in Australia at the moment?

A: The old days of making your living playing in pubs has largely disappeared; the economics don't work, and the number of acts that get enough promotion to make a living on door deals is pretty low.

More Information: http://www.stormcellar.com.au

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